Vitamin D Supplements

Are you taking your vitamin D supplements? You should be. Post menopausal women have a tendency to be vitamin D deficient, and that can have many effects on us including making it difficult to lose weight.

Vitamin D also helps our bones absorb calcium and stay strong - which means fewer fractures and less of a chance of developing osteoporosis.

Natural Treatments

Here are some ways that you can increase your vitamin D level the natural way.

Supplements

If you are under 65, take 800-1,000 IU daily. If you are over 65, take 800-2,000 IU daily.

Sunlight

Get outside (without sunscreen) for 15-20 minutes a day three times a week. Expose as much of your skin as possible (without getting into trouble!).

If you live somewhere with a harsh winter climate, it's difficult to get this amount of sunlight. If that is the case for you, be sure to take your vitamin D supplements.

Sunlight will also help to boost your serotonin level and will therefore make you less moody.

Food

You can get vitamin D into your system by eating fatty fish (salmon, herring, mackerel) and eggs. Many foods are fortified with vitamin D as well. These include milk, orange juice, cereal, bread and margarine.

Vitamin D Prevents...

Vitamin D does all kinds of good things for our bodies. Here are a few:

Osteoporosis

Vitamin D is like a natural osteoporosis treatment because it helps our bodies to absorb calcium. Because of this, it helps to prevent our bones from getting brittle.

People who don't get enough vitamin D are at risk for developing osteoporosis and bone fractures.

Rickets

People who have low levels of vitamin D develop rickets which is a disease that prevents the body from making new bone. It is also called osteomalacia.

Hypertension

Vitamin D has been shown to ward off high blood pressure.

PMS

Vitamin D can help alleviate symptoms of PMS such as breast tenderness.

Other

There is also some correlation between a lack of vitamin D and some types of cancer as well as Alzheimer's disease.